Device tfob



Aug.- 16, 1927.

' S. LASCO GUIDE nsvicn FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed May 12. 1926ATTORNEY WITNESS:

Patented Aug. 16, 1927.

. seamen msco, or TiiN-KHANKOCK, rmvnsynvmm.

, es-rim musics-L anew-amass.

Asmara :fiiea This invention relates to an attachment for Iiiusicalinstruments and has for its object the provision of a novel guide deviceadapted to be clamped upon a violin for the purpose of guiding the bowin its movement over the strings so as to enable the user to learnthe'proper way to bow.

An important and more specific object is the provision of guide. meansof this character including a pair of devices adapted to be clamped uponthe opposite sides of a.

violin, the devices including upstanding spaced guides between whichthebow operates, the guides being separated a slightly 16 greater distancethan the bow so as to permit a certain degree of irregularity in themovement such as is bound to occur during normal or natural movements ofthe players arm.

Yet another object is to provide a device of this character which willbe simple and inexpensive in manufacture, easy to apply or remove,positive in action, efiicient and durable in service, and a generalimprovementin the art; I

With the above and other objects and advantages in view, the inventionconsists in the details of construction and the arrangement of elementsto be hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a cross sectional viewthrough I a violin with the device applied, the view being taken on theline 11 of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevation, and I I Figure 3 is a detailsectional view showing the clamping means.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the letter A designates thebody of a violinwhich is provided with the usual. waist portion B whichis well known to be considerably narrower. than the I major instrumentof width of the body. The course further includes the usual neck,finger-piece, and other details which are not shown in the drawings, forthe reason that they constitute no part of the present invention. Theletter O designates the strin s which are of course. brought across tfiebridge D in the usual manner. The letter E represents the bow which isused for playing in the well known manner.

In carrying out the invention, I provide guide devices located atopposite sides of the head or body of the instrument, these 1926. seams.108,631.

guide'devices'being indicated generally by the numeral-=10. Inasmuch asthese devices are both identically of the same construction, adescription of one will sufiice. Each of the members 10 comprises a pairof elongated upright bars 11 connected by transverse elements 12 and 13engageable upon the top and beneath the bottom of the violin body,respectively, as clearly indicated in the drawings. The securing meansis im material and may be of any preferred style and it is conceivablethat the parts might be formed integral if such should be foundpreferable for any reason. The members 11 are spaced apart a sufficientdistance to permit free operation of the bow'E. therebetween in theplaying of the violin in the usual manner and it is preferable that theconfronting faces of the members 11 be provided with linings of felt 14or the like so .as to avoid scratching or otherwise injuring the bow.The member 13 is provided with a lateral extension or is made relativelywide as compared with the member 12 and threaded therethrough areclamping screws 15 which are preferably provided with rubber caps ortips 16 for the purpose of avoiding injury'to the instrument.

In order to applythe invention, the two members 10 are disposed atopposite sides of the waist portion B of the violin and the screws 15are tightened in order to effect a clamping action. Obviously, themember 10 will thus be firmly held with respect to the head or body ofthe violin so that there will be no danger of displacement of the guidedevices when the. instrument is bowedin the'usual manner. Obviously,there will be the great advantage of preventing inaccurate bowing forthe reason that it is impossible to move the bow in any direction otherthan at right angles to the strings. Of course, there should be acertain play between the sides of the bow and the guides in order toavoid limiting the movement to an unnecessary extent or to an extentwhich might interfere, to a certain extent atleast, with the properplaying of compositions. It is really believed that the construction,op-

eration and advantages will be readily apparent toone skilled in theart, without further explanation.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of theinvention, it should be understood that I reserve the right to make suchchanges in the form,

construction and arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spiritof the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described the invention, I claim A bow guiding means forattachment upon a violin, comprising a pair of similar guide devicesdisposable at opposite sides of the body of a violin at the Waistportion thereof, means for clamping said guide devices in place, each ofsaid guide devices ineluding a pair of spaced uprights arranged inparallel relation and connected by transverse elements, one transverseelement being disposed upon the top of the body and the other at thebottom thereof, and clamping screws passing through the bottomtransverse member and engaging against the un derside of the body.

In testimony whereof I a-flix my signature.

STEPHEN LASCO.

